Vedanta Center of Atlanta: March events

3/26/2017 10:30 AM

Vedanta Center of Atlanta: March events

Times:
10:30am-11am: silent meditation in the Chapel before each Sunday’s talk.
11am-noon: talk and worship in the chapel.
noon-1:30pm: devotees and friends meet in the Monastery for tea, coffee, snacks and a continuation of our spiritual fellowship.
Please join us!
PS: Please be on time. The service starts promptly at 11AM.

Sunday, March 5Sri Ramakrishna's Birthday Celebration!
Join us this Sunday morning for the veneration and worship of Sri Ramakrishna!
Br. Shankara will talk a little about Sri Ramakrishna's life, and then perform a simple 5-item offering and worship of our beloved Thakur. There will be singing and chanting from members of the congregation, and a flower offering as well.

The puja will be followed by a potluck lunch at around noon; we will share food brought by devotees and offered to the Lord during the worship.

Please note: If you wish to bring food to be offered during the worship, please bring it to the monastery kitchen no later than 11am, and make sure it is ready to serve.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS AT 2AM THIS COMING SUNDAY MORNING. SET CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR AT BEDTIME ON SATURDAY NIGHT.

March is a month for study of Raja Yoga, a spiritual path often called the yoga of meditation. As a raja yogi, you use ancient, proven spiritual techniques to quiet the mind and gain control of your attention. Regular daily practice of concentration may lead to meditation, which can reveal the Divine Presence within and liberate you from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Swami SwahanandaSwami Swahananda (photo at right) headed the Vedanta Society of Southern California from December 1976 until his mahasamadhi in October 2012. Here is a short prayer often recited by Swahanandaji:

O LORD
You are the source of infinite energy;
fill me with that energy.
You are the source of infinite strength;
endow me with that strength.
You are the source of infinite courage;
inspire me with that courage.
You are the source of infinite fortitude;
grant me that fortitude.

Energy — strength — courage — fortitude: these are four fruits of spiritual practice as taught by Sri Ramakrishna. The Master’s prescription for practice was simple; its ingredients were truthfulness, integrity, and a deep yearning for spiritual wisdom and understanding.

To know God or Truth is the purpose of human life, Ramakrishna said. And he promised that when you truly make that your first priority, everything else finds its proper place.

On Sunday morning we will explore these thoughts, and compare them with Christ’s teaching, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” — Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

Sunday, March 19 - No talk - Annual Meeting & Catered Luncheon for the Congregation
11am in the Chapel. Lunch immediately following in the Fellowship Hall. Please RSVP so that we can make sure we have the right amount of food. Thank you!Sunday, March 26 - "Mahatma Gandhi's Practice of Contemplation and Meditation--Rajayogi of a Rare Kind"
w/Uma Majmudar

Millions around the world know Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of Indian independence from the British. The Mahatma (Great Soul) is also revered by many as a saintly political leader and wielder of “Satyagraha” — based on Truth (Satya), Nonviolence (Ahimsa) and self-chosen suffering (Tapas) to resist social, political, economic or moral injustice anywhere in the world.

Yet, only a few people know the REAL GANDHI—A SPIRITUAL SEEKER who yearned to see God face to face and who worshipped God as Truth only. Not many people know the man Mohandas Gandhi as a Rajayogi, but of a different kind, who struggled and strived for years and years to overcome what he called his own “Himalayan faults”—by undergoing a rigorous course of spiritual disciplines (yamas and niyamas) and practices (sadhana), various self-restraints and self-denials in order to become a fit instrument of God. Since Gandhi pursued God as Truth only, he equated God and Truth and the only way he saw one could achieve Truth is via the practice of Ahimsa. What connection did he see between Truth and Ahimsa? He said,“All life is of one piece. To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself.” — Radhakrishnan, Mahatma Gandhi, 1939, 14

For more on “Gandhi — Rajyogi of a Rare Kind,” come to our Sunday Vedanta session at 11am on March 26th.